From Jersey To Florida And Back Again: A Look At Jihaad Campbells' Journey

Kyle Brey was in Japan with a group of football players playing an all-star game in Osaka when the NFL Draft began on Thursday night. He was still tuned in when he saw one of his former players, Jihaad Campbell, get picked by the Eagles with the 31st pick.

“The fact that he’s going to be with a Super Bowl champion in the Eagles, immediately I turned to my staff when he got drafted and said, ‘How about that? This guy might win a Super Bowl in his first year in the NFL. How incredible is that?’

“That to me was more exciting than the round or the number, just a great organization and a bunch of guys who just made the full journey to the top of the league. For him to be able to be in the locker room and be mentored by them, I think is a huge advantage for him.”

Brey is director of the football program at IMG Academy, a boarding school in Bradenton, Fla. It’s where Campbell decided to go for his final year of high school, in 2021, to do exactly one of the things IMG is known for – producing good football players capable of succeeding in college and wherever their life leads from there.

THE DECISION

Campbell was entering his senior year at Timber Creek Regional High School when he decided to go to IMG. He said it wasn’t a tough decision to leave his family behind in Gloucester Township, because he wanted to challenge himself both on the field and off.

“It’s always interesting to see socially how they adjust to IMG Academy,” said Brey. “The football piece is pretty obvious, When kids come to us as upperclassmen, they’re just looking to get challenged and get prepared for the next step.

 “What’s unique when kids get to come here and get challenged by other athletes who are probably equal in talent, it’s fun to watch their eyes kind of light up and know that, now I really need to tighten my helmet and get after because I can’t just coast.”

Campbell knew what he was getting into and embraced it. Brey said the Eagles' first-round pick fit right in right away, always smiling, always enjoying himself, with a strong locker room presence.

“I was just understanding what was at task and what I wanted to do,” said Campbell. “I’m definitely grateful that my parents understood what I wanted to do moving forward…It was a big sequence in my life, and I think that was the best thing that happened to me (going to IMG). Just persevering and overcoming every adversity that came my way.”

Campbell originally committed to Clemson but flipped it when the school’s defensive coordinator Brent Venables left to become the head coach at the University of Oklahoma. He also got to play some offense at IMG, but knew his future was on defense.

“I was running back, receiver, quarterback before I got out of high school,” he said. “…I thought I was going to be an offensive player until I started getting a little aggressive. That's when I said, 'Alright, I've got to go to defense.'”

IMG ACADEMY

IMG is a pipeline to the NFL, with 23 players drafted into the league since 2018.

During his senior year at the school, Campbell helped the IMG’s National football team to a 9-1 record. He caught 15 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns and made 45 tackles with seven sacks.

Campbell is joining an Eagles team with six other players on the roster who have Alabama ties. Two of them also went to IMG – Nolan Smith and Eli Ricks. Left tackle Jordan Maialta trained at IMG in the NFL’s International Pathway Program before being taken by the Eagles in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, is now arguably the best seventh-round pick Philadelphia has ever made.

When Campbell arrived, offensive lineman JC Latham was already on the team. J.J. McCarthy was the quarterback, and Tyler Booker, drafted by the Cowboys on Thursday night, 12th overall, became a good friend.

The boarding school has had an alumni selected in the first round, for six straight years, going back to Cesar Ruiz (2020, New Orleans Saints), Greg Newsome (2021, Cleveland Browns), Evan Neal (2022, New York Giants), Smith (2023, Philadelphia Eagles), and McCarthy (2024, Minnesota Vikings) and Latham (2024, Titans).

“There was a group of guys, Jihaad, Tyler, when we would get to go to practice - the practice fields are kind of far off in the distance - but when it was time to go and it was a day those guys were excited about, they were almost running to practice as opposed to the slow walk out," said Brey.

“It was like a fast jog to get out there so they could get stuff set up and get going. Every now and then, we have a group that's just dying to get back on the field together and do the next thing with each other. That’s something I remember with Jihaad. We’ve had a few over the years, you can feel the field pulling them out to practice. That’s what you could see with Jihaad, and J.C. Latham had that a little bit, and Tyler Booker had it in spades, where they are like, 'Let’s get out there and get going, I can’t wait to start the day.'"